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600 YEARS OF HOSPITALITY, HISTORY & WEDDINGS
The Lord Leycester Hospital in Warwick

This historic group of timber-framed buildings near Warwick’s famed “Norman Gate” an easy walk from Warwick Castle, have been continuously occupied for 600 years, first as a chapel chantry, then home for medieval artisan Guilds, then a hospital for the retirement of wounded ex-servicemen and their wives. The Chantry Chapel of St. James is the oldest structure constructed under charter from Richard II in 1383. On weekdays the hospital’s old soldier “brethren” still gather for prayers surrounded by artifacts of Warwick’s celebrated tradition of woodcarving.

In 1450 the beamed Guildhall was built by the Earl of Warwick, Neville called “the Kingmaker”. (See WARWICK CASTLE -Medieval Ghosts and Love Birds). And in Elizabethan times the buildings which had stood already for over 150 years changed to new purpose. Lord Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Queen Elizabeth’s favorite who came to tragic end when he challenged the Queen’s authority, founded the military retirement home or “hospital” for soldiers disabled in England’s far-flung wars. The Hospital still remains as a self-supporting charity today.

The Guild Hall contains a collection of trophies brought back from far lands of the empire by retiring soldiers. It also is home to the Regimental Museum of the West Midlands Queen’s Own Hussars cavalry regiment. The courtyard is one of the finest surviving examples of untouched ancient half-timbered architecture, constantly photographed, subject of artists and used as a location for film and television productions.

The Lord Leycester Hospital is located at the west end of High Street. Open from Tuesday to Sunday, with a small car park, admission is under 5 pounds including the Queen’s Hussars museum and master garden, a beautiful and tranquil example of a medieval English garden dating from the Norman period.

Thinking of a medieval style wedding and royal honeymoon? The Great Hall and Guild Hall are quite popular for weddings and available for private events, with in-house catering served by the Brethren’s kitchen. © Bargain Travel Europe

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Lord Leycester Hospital

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See also:

ENGLISH KINGS & ALE, WITCHCRAFT AND FOOTBALL
B&B with a bit'o history - Stapleton's Chantry North Moreton

ETTINGTON PARK
Sleep To The Manor Born

THE STRATFORD MAN
Literature’s greatest mystery - Did He or Didn’t He?

LANGLEY CASTLE
Castle Hotel & Restaurant - Weddings and Hadrian's Wall

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